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Use cow update to pull the latest code and restart the service in one step:
The command runs the following automatically:
  1. Pull the latest code (git pull)
  2. Stop the running service
  3. Update Python dependencies
  4. Reinstall the CLI
  5. Start the service
If the Cow CLI is not installed, ./run.sh update performs the same operations.

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Web console one-click update

Source installs can also upgrade from the Web console without opening a terminal.
  1. Click the version string in the left sidebar footer to open the pop-up menu. Opening it does not contact GitHub.
  2. Click Check for update to fetch version info — the only network request. If a newer version exists, the same row turns into Update now with a small red dot.
  3. Click Update now. The console reuses the same path as cow update (git pull, dependency install, CLI reinstall) and then restarts the service. The Release notes entry opens the GitHub releases page for the full changelog.
The update only touches the git checkout. User data lives outside the repo (agent_workspace, default ~/cow) and config.json is git-ignored, so git pull never overwrites them — no backup is taken. The updater records the current git commit; if the new code fails to import, it resets the checkout to that commit and leaves the running process untouched. After a successful update the console reconnects on its own and shows the new version.
Docker images and the packaged desktop app cannot use this button. Docker stays on docker compose pull; the desktop client keeps its built-in updater. On Windows, run cow update in a terminal — the Web console cannot restart that process from inside itself.

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Rollback

If a successful update misbehaves, reset to the previous commit:

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Manual upgrade

Run the following inside the project root:
Then restart the service:

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Docker upgrade

Run the following in the directory containing docker-compose.yml:
Back up config.json before upgrading. For Docker deployments, mount the workspace directory as a volume to persist data across upgrades.

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Desktop client upgrade

The desktop client has built-in auto-update: it checks for new versions automatically and prompts you, so you can download and restart to upgrade in one click. You can also grab the latest version anytime from the download page.